20 Students Are SFAA Finalists

The Slaughter Family Arts Awards announced their 2023 finalists on Monday, April 3, and 20 FWCD students are finalists! Congratulations to Kate Daly ’24, Caroline Grebe ’23, Corbin Harrell ’25, Sophia Jiang ’26, Olivia Kersh ’24, Frankie Leoni ’26, Rocco Leoni ’26, Andrew Lobo ’26, Nicolas Medaris ’23, Olivia Miller ’26, Lee Morris ’25, Carolina Murrin ’24, Abigail Proell ’24, Caroline Readinger ’23, Vivian Richey ’25,  Ava Scott ’23, Ashton Theesfeld ’26, Jessica Tomasic ’23, Margaret Watler ’24 and Belle Xu ’24. Winners will be announced in a ceremony on Sunday, April 23, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the I.M. Terrell Academy Auditorium. Each finalist receives a $50 scholarship; winners will receive an additional $300. 

Founded in 2020 by Rebecca and J Mack Slaughter ’02, the Slaughter Family Arts Awards (SFAA) celebrates and recognizes talent and dedication in students with a passion for the arts. The Slaughters formed the arts organization to give back to students in member schools, through both scholarship and performance opportunities, to students who love the arts in school or out of school.

The categories in which FWCD students are finalists are:  

DANCE

Excellence in Dance Performance: Rocco Leoni, Carolina Murrin, Vivian Richey 

MUSIC

Excellence in Classical Vocal Performance: Ava Scott 

Excellence in Pop Music Vocal Performance: Frankie Leoni, Rocco Leoni, Jessica Tomasic 

Excellence in Classical Solo Instrumental Performance: Corbin Harrell, Sophia Jiang, Andrew Lobo 

Excellence in Contemporary Solo Instrumental Performance: Frankie Leoni, Rocco Leoni 

THEATRE

Excellence in Monologue Performance: Olivia Kersh 

Excellence in Musical Theatre Vocal Performance: Rocco Leoni, Nicolas Medaris 

VISUAL ARTS

Excellence in Photography: Lee Morris, Abigail Proell, Ashton Theesfeld 

Excellence in Painting: Olivia Miller 

Excellence in Drawing: Kate Daly, Caroline Readinger 

Excellence in 3D Art: Caroline Grebe, Margaret Watler, Belle Xu 

Overseen by Kate Lovelady, SFAA Head of Awards, judging is outsourced and completed by local artists highly experienced in each award category. Using forms that include pre-determined rubrics, each piece is judged anonymously (without students’ names or school attached). The scores are averaged based on a points system to determine the winner.

This year, the Slaughter Family Arts Awards received 150 submissions from their five participating schools: All Saints’ Episcopal School, Fort Worth Country Day, Nolan Catholic High School, Trinity Valley School, and Southwest Christian School.